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| Giving wings to highland dreams through the will to rise and the spirit of martial arts |
Sowing the seeds
A two-hour drive across winding mountain passes leads to schools in the highlands. This journey has been one that Mr. Loc has pursued for nearly a quarter of a century. Throughout the trip, he shared with us memorable experiences from his earliest recruitment trips to the area.
Those were the days when roads were still difficult, many villages had yet to be electrified, and access to the children relied almost entirely on referrals from schools and local authorities. “Some came barefoot, their clothes smeared with dirt, thin and frail, but once they took the test, they seemed completely transformed—quick and agile,” Mr. Loc recalled.
From those seemingly simple memories grew his belief that, in these challenging highlands, there are always special “seeds” that, once discovered and properly nurtured, will one day rise and shine.
That day, Mr. Loc’s stop was Nham Primary School in A Luoi 2 Commune—where many Ta Oi and Pa Co ethnic minority children study. After a brief introduction, he and his team quickly began basic physical fitness tests. Agile like forest squirrels, many of the children passed endurance and standing long jump tests, beginning to reveal qualities suited to martial arts.
Le Vien Diem Hong, a pupil at Nham Primary School, shared: “Today, the teachers and senior students came here to guide us through our first training sessions. I feel very happy and proud, and I hope that one day I can be like them.”
“Most children here demonstrate outstanding physical potential from an early age. If selected to pursue a professional sports career, it would benefit both them and their families. In the lowlands, they would be provided with proper accommodation, training, and education, as well as opportunities to compete in major events and bring pride to their hometowns and the country,” said Le Thi Hong Hoi, Principal of Nham Primary School.
Sports help children grow
Accompanying us on this return trip to the A Luoi highlands was Ho Thi Ha, a Pa Co athlete and gold medalist at the 2018 Southeast Asian Karate Championships. During the same period, she also claimed a bronze medal in the women’s individual kumite 59kg category at the 2018 Asian Junior Karatedo Championships in Japan. Ha said that without the chance to access martial arts through coach Le Van Loc’s recruitment trips, her life might have taken a very different path. “I am always grateful to coach Loc and the sports sector for giving me the opportunity to study, train, and compete. It is thanks to that opportunity that I am who I am today,” she shared.
Once a shy and self-conscious girl, Ha has been transformed by sports both physically and mentally, opening doors she had never imagined before. Dinh Van Bao, a neighbor of Ho Thi Ha’s family, said: “After each competition away from home, Ha returns to visit her family and fellow villagers. We are happy to see her becoming more mature with each passing day.”
Pride fills Ho Duc Hang as he recounts his young daughter’s journey of pursuing her dreams. Recalling the emotional farewell when he sent her with coach Loc to the lowlands, Mr. Hang said: “It was hard to see her leave home, but it was an opportunity for her to change her life. Now, looking back, we are happy to see her grow, bring pride to her hometown, and develop herself.”
For Ha, her first medal in the summer of 2018 was more than an achievement; it was a milestone affirming that the path she had chosen was the right one.
Belief in the A Luoi Highlands
Since 2014, in karate alone, highland athletes from ethnic minority groups such as Ta Oi and Pa Co have won more than 40 medals, including 17 gold medals at Southeast Asian and Asian competitions. “We will continue to prioritize targeted investment in this group of athletes to gradually promote the sustainable development of karate in the time ahead,” said Ha Xuan Binh, Deputy Director of the Hue City Sports Training and Competition Center.
Leaving behind their villages and rugged roads to pursue new horizons on the wings of sport, the medals of athletes Ho Thi Hoai Tanh and Ho Thi Ha now stand as a source of inspiration for other children in the highlands of A Luoi. They are role models, showing that with determination and support, every path—no matter how difficult or uneven—can lead to glory, allowing highland dreams to take flight alongside the nation’s future generations.